Guide to Meditation

I extracted the following from an internet site which explains the steps to take for successful meditation. It is quite long....

Written Guide to Meditating

Posture
Different postures affect how the energy flows through the body and how alert the mind is in meditation. For most meditations, we suggest sitting upright with the spine erect while still being comfortable. It is not necessary to get into a precise or difficult posture to meditate! If you are uncomfortable or straining to be in a certain position, you will not be able to relax completely. Some meditations, such as our Walking Meditation, are done while active. Obviously, if you are doing a meditation for falling asleep, it would be best to lie down.
How Long to Meditate
Usually 15-30 minutes is a good meditation time, although if you are new to meditation, you may want to start with 5 or 10 and build up. If you meditate regularly, it can be helpful to meditate about the same number of minutes each time. (An exception is our Meditation-in-Action which is done for longer periods of time while engaged in activity.)
When to meditate
When you meditate will partly depend on what kind of meditation you are doing and the purpose of the meditation. Although you can meditate at any time, the ideal times are usually in the morning as a start to your day, or in the late afternoon in order to unwind from the activity of the day and be refreshed for the evening.
If you do a meditation which energizes you, it’s better not to do it before bedtime. Some meditations, however, are specifically designed for falling asleep and many people find listening to many of our guided meditations helps them relax into sleep.
Meditations which are deeply relaxing are best done on an empty stomach or at least a couple of hours after a meal.
How often to meditate
The ideal frequency of meditation may vary from person to person depending on many different factors. Generally speaking, once or twice a day is ideal. A regular routine of meditation is invaluable. The benefit derived from meditation starts to carry over into our activity more when we meditate regularly. Many find twice a day to be ideal, but certainly even once a day can make a big difference.
It is possible to meditate too much. Everything in life is about balance and proportion. Usually 15-20 minutes twice a day is sufficient and more could be counter-productive. (Taking brief meditation breaks more often would be OK, however.)
Thoughts in meditation
Thoughts arise spontaneously in the mind. They are a natural part of meditation. The goal of meditation is to become more at ease, relaxed and at peace with whatever is happening. Therefore, it is important to not resist anything that comes in meditation, including thoughts.
Don’t try to push out thoughts or resist them. Simply notice that thoughts are present and let them go the way they come — effortlessly. When you find that the awareness has been caught up in a train of thought, easily come back to the focus of your meditation. (This will vary depending on the type of meditation you are doing. In a breath meditation, for example, come easily back to the experience of the breath.)
It’s important to understand that you have not made a mistake when thoughts come or the mind has become absorbed in thought. It’s a natural part of meditation. The mind may get caught up in a “story” about what is happening in our life, or even what is happening in meditation — what has happened or will happen. Likewise, we can let go of that. Don’t purposely follow the train of thought. Let it go. Let go of the meaning of thoughts. Let thoughts be a meaningless activity in the mind!
Our experience of thoughts may change as we meditate.
As we disengage the gears of the mind, the mind has an opportunity to settle down. We may experience more subtle levels of the thinking process. Thoughts may become more vague, or may even be an intuitive felt sense of something — a knowing that does not get translated into words and concepts. Allow this process of the changing experience of thoughts to happen.
Sometimes you may experience a kind of dream-like state, somewhere between being asleep and awake. This also is a natural experience in meditation. There may also be times when there is a state of “no thought”. No matter what happens just take it easy — take it as it comes!
Noise
It’s enjoyable to meditate in a quiet place, but it is not always possible. All of the meditations on our website can be done in a noisy environment. The key is to not resist noise. Don’t try to ignore the noise or to block it out. Simply let it be and continue with your meditation.
Everything is a part of meditation — the noise, your thoughts about it, the way the mind may start to resist it, the emotions that arise about it. Treat everything that arises in meditation the same way — let it be, let yourself be!
Falling asleep in meditation
Hopefully in meditation we enter a state of “non-resistance”. This would include not resisting sleep if it comes. If we try to keep from falling asleep, we are straining. The goal of meditation to establish a state of ease. Therefore, if sleep comes, let it come.
As the body relaxes, it will take the opportunity for sleep if it is needed. If you find that you fall asleep frequently in meditation, it may mean that you need more sleep at night and is a good reminder to make sure you are getting enough rest.
Strong emotions
When we enter into a state of relaxation in meditation, strong emotions can sometimes arise. This can happen for several reasons. When the mind settles down in meditation, we may become aware of an emotion that has been “under the surface” while we are busy in activity and focused on other things. It may also be that the deep relaxation of meditation causes a kind of “unwinding” or purification, so that any emotion that has been held in the body is released. The meditative state can be much like the dream state in which various issues are being processed.
If we are uncomfortable with a particular emotion, such as grief, the tendency may be to want to push it out. Emotions are a flow of life energy, and if we resist that flow, the energy becomes “stuck”. If you notice resistance to emotions, let the resistance go. Allow the emotion to be experienced fully and the energy of the emotion can flow and resolve.
On the other hand, when a strong emotion arises, the mind may become very busy interpreting it or dramatizing it with a story about it. If anger arises, for example, the mind might pick up on something that happened in the past, or imagine something happening now as the cause of the anger. This involvement of the mind in the emotion intensifies and feeds it, and also obstructs it from moving through easily. When we become aware of being caught up in a train of thought or a story, let that go and bring the awareness easily back to the focus of the meditation. (The focus will depend on the meditation you are doing.)
If the emotion or thought is so strong that you cannot easily come back to your focus (such as the focus on the breath), then simply allow the mind to feel the emotion. Let the awareness locate a physical sensation in the body that is associated with the strong emotion (or thought). Simply continue to feel that sensation in the body. With the awareness easily on the sensation, it will eventually dissolve and the mind will be free to continue with the focus of the meditation.
Ending Meditation
It’s important to take time to come out of meditation slowly. When we are deeply rested in meditation, it can be jarring to suddenly get up and start our activity. Remain with your eyes closed for a minute or two. Stretch, move around a bit, and gradually become more active. When you are ready to open your eyes, you can open them downcast at first. Take your time!

Problems with thoughts in meditation
This is probably the most common challenge people have with meditation. They feel they are unable to quiet the mind and keep out thoughts. “My mind just won’t stop its chatter.” “I can’t stay focused on meditation.”Solution: The key is to stop resisting thoughts and trying to make them go away. Thoughts are a part of meditation. They are a natural activity in the mind. Although meditation can be a way to experience inner silence, this comes about not by eliminating thoughts but by becoming away of the silence that is naturally present in the mind along with the thoughts. When we stop resisting what is naturally happening, we experience calmness and peace.
Restlessness
Often people find it’s hard to sit still for meditation. It doesn’t take long to start thinking of all the things you could be doing, or to feel restless like you want to get up.Solution: Restlessness can arise as the body “unwinds”. When we sit to meditate, it’s as if we’ve spent the day in a moving car. Once we stop and rest, it feels as if our body is still moving. It takes time for the body to settle down and feel at rest. Meditating is like shifting gears in a car — you shift into neutral and the engine takes a while to slow down and come to idle. Continue meditating, allowing yourself to be aware of the sensation of restlessness in the body. You can continue with the meditation practice, such as watching the breath, during this time, or if the restlessness is extremely intense you can give your attention fully to the sensation of restlessness. Notice exactly how it feels in your body — where you feel it, and what the sensation is like. As you allow yourself to experience the restlessness, it will eventually settle down.
Being uncomfortable with our feelings
Sometimes during meditation, we may be uncomfortable with some of the feelings that arise. This might take the form of a strong emotion or a physical sensation in the body. When the mind is no longer caught up in its outer-directed focus and the usual distractions of the day, we can become aware of feelings that have been under the surface. You may feel tempted to stop meditating, or start to resist these feelings, making meditation a struggle.Solution: The key to achieving a state of deep relaxation, is to learn to stop resisting certain feelings and be present to “what is”. Thoughts, emotions, bodily sensations come and go continuously in the natural flow of life. Left to flow by themselves, they will pass through. Simply allow these feelings to be present, not trying to push them out, but also not following the mind’s stories about them. If an emotion is so strong that it’s overpowering, allow the awareness to be easily with that emotion. Notice its location in the body, and let the awareness be with the physical sensations associated with the emotion until the emotion diminishes. Let go of the meaning the mind gives to the emotion.
Occasionally in meditation, something can come to awareness that is particularly difficult, such as a repressed memory from the past or a realization about something we need to change in our lives. In this case, it may be helpful to get some support, such as counseling to help deal with the issues that arise.
Disappointment that “good experiences” aren’t always there
Every time we meditate our experiences will be different, depending on our ever-changing physical and emotional states, as well as life circumstances. It is important to understand that our experiences will change, as we will tend to form expectations based on our previous experience. Naturally we like some meditative experiences better than others, and may feel disappointed if we meditate and don’t have those experiences.
There are no good or bad experiences in meditation. There is no right or wrong way to feel. Meditation is about “letting go” and trusting the natural flow of life. It is important to remember that the goal of these meditations is not to have special experiences, but to become more at ease with whatever arises. By meditating regularly and following these guidelines, ease in meditation will grow and this will translate into greater ease in living — the ability to flow with whatever life brings.
Sitting in an uncomfortable posture
Often people have the idea that they have to sit in a certain posture for effective meditation, and yet they find it is impossible to do so comfortably. If you are physically uncomfortable this will dominate your awareness and it will be impossible to relax.Solution: For sitting meditations, it is best to sit with the spine erect, but not to strain in any way. Sit in a way which is natural and puts you at ease. For most people, sitting with back support and with the feet flat on the floor works best.

Nature Meditations
How to Meditate in Nature
These meditations are done outside in natural surroundings. They help to enliven the basic intelligence of nature in our awareness and physiology. Our being resonates with the sight of a flower, sound of birds, feeling of the breeze. These experiences wake something up inside of us, and help to set our lives into a more natural rhythm. Nature lovers have discovered this secret without ever studying meditation!

In the nature meditations, we focus our awareness on the experience of nature — sight, sound, touch, smell (and perhaps even taste). As with every meditation on our website, when the mind wanders from the focus of the meditation, bring it gently back. There are several different ways that this meditation can be done. Experiment and find what works best for you.

Basic Nature Meditation — Eyes Closed
Find a comfortable position sitting or lying down. Begin with a few deep breaths, breathing deep into the belly, to help you relax and to bring you to the sensations of the present moment. Now close your eyes and be present to what is being experienced with your eyes closed. Notice how your body feels, as well as the activity of your mind and emotions. Experience whatever is present without resisting anything or trying to change it. Do this for about a minute.

Now bring your awareness to everything that you can experience in your surroundings. Feel the temperature of the air on your skin, the feeling of the breeze and the sun. Notice the sounds around you — birds, bees, crickets, flowing water. Listen to the symphony of nature. For the rest of the meditation, continue to experience these feelings and sounds. Whenever your mind wanders, gently bring it back to the experience of nature.

As you meditate, you can see where your attention is naturally drawn, or purposefully scan for different experiences. You can also focus on one experience and notice the experience in greater detail. If it is a bird’s song — notice the quality of the sound — as if you are going more deeply into the sound. (It may seem to have a shape or texture.) Don’t analyze the sound and label it with your mind — simply notice the quality of it.

Once again, whenever you notice that the mind has become absorbed in thoughts, easily bring it back to the sounds and sensations of being in nature. At times both awareness of the sensations from the environment and thoughts will be present. That’s fine. Just easily favor the experiences of nature.

Listening Meditation — Variation of Basic Nature Meditation
Begin as described in the Basic Nature Meditation, but focus on sound only. Let your awareness be with all the sounds in the environment, noticing them in great detail. You can also focus on one particular sound, such as that of flowing water. Continue to bring your attention back to that particular sound when your mind wanders.

Nature Meditation — Eyes Open
This meditation can be done while sitting, standing or walking. Time spent in nature can always be a form of meditation when we put our full attention on what is around us — the earth, trees, flowers, animals, fresh air, the breeze…

To intensify this experience, allow yourself to experience the sights, sounds and smells without labeling them and becoming mentally involved with them. Notice the tendency of the mind to name and evaluate everything — “Oh, look at that beautiful bird. What kind is it? Is it here all winter or where does it go?” When these kinds of thoughts come up, let them go. Simply experience the colors, shape, sounds, movement of the bird or whatever else you are experiencing. Let it be an experience without meaning and without reference to any other experience.

Experience everything with an open awareness, as if you’d never experienced anything like it before. As always, when the mind wanders and becomes caught up in thought, simply bring it back to the experience of nature.

Meditation in Action
How to meditate while remaining active
Our Meditation-in-Action is a way of meditating while remaining active. This can be an incredibly relaxing experience. It can also bring insights into how we resist the natural flow of life and help you to let go of that resistance and experience activity in a more natural and spontaneous way. This meditation can be for personal growth, or simply to relax.
Usually this meditation will be most effective if you can take at least an hour to do it. It can even become the basis of a day long retreat.
How to do this meditation
Set aside a couple of hours, or better yet a morning or even a whole day in which you will only do what you want to do when you want to do it.
The basic meditation is to spend some time doing only what you want to do in the moment. It is usually most effective to do this in your own home or in an environment that you spend a lot of time in. The idea isn’t necessarily to do something special or to get involved in a project that takes planning or commits you to a certain course of action (like taking a trip). It is better to leave things open-ended so that you have the freedom to start one thing and stop it or change your focus at any time.
During this time let go of any ideas of what you think you should do and everything you think needs to be done. That even includes “I should do something really special that I always want to do but don’t have time for”. Don’t plan your time ahead. Don’t think about what to do, just start doing what comes to you naturally. Do what you want to do in every moment as it arises. You may notice yourself judging what you choose to do, but let that go. Just follow the impulses of the moment.
At times you may sit or lie down and do nothing, at other times you may have an inspiration of something new and different to do, and at other times you may surprise yourself by finding you are doing something on your to-do list. The feeling as you do these things will be completely different, however, as you let go of any agendas and any shoulds. You may find yourself actually enjoying doing things that you might not normally enjoy, simply because there is no longer a sense that “I have to do this” or a pressure about time.
What is so relaxing is the sense of freedom in just letting yourself do as you please — letting yourself be. You may learn quite a lot about how your mind is always evaluating what you are doing and whether or not it is worthwhile, “good” or “bad”, and so on.
Music as Meditation
Sit or lie down, close your eyes, and bring your attention to the music. Whenever you find your attention has wandered, bring it easily back to the music. As always, don’t strain or try to force your mind to follow the music, just be easy about it and “take it as it comes”.
These same meditation guidelines apply to any of our meditations. The focus in the meditations varies. It may be the body or the breath, or the focus may simply be to follow the gentle instructions in the guided meditations. In this case, the focus is the music.
It’s important to understand that it is not a mistake when the mind wanders from the music. Everything the mind does, everything that happens, is part of the meditation. So don’t try to concentrate or force the mind in any way. The only criteria for “right meditation” is that it is easy. The goal, if there is a goal, is effortlessness, but even if we are find ourselves making an effort sometimes, that’s OK. Just back off and continue.
Walking Meditation
How to meditate while walking
Walking meditation can be just as profound as sitting meditation, and has the advantage of bringing the meditative experience into our activity. There are a number of different walking meditations. Our variation is informal and easy. It allows you to be more present in your body and in the present moment. The simple experience of alternating steps with the left and right foot naturally helps create a meditative state.

There is a tremendous richness of experience to become aware of as you walk. The body loves movement, and will reward you with pleasure if you pay attention to how it feels! So much of the time we are caught up in our mental worlds — thinking of the past or future, planning, imagining… Paying attention to the body as you walk will help you to enjoy simply being alive. (Although there are sitting meditations in which you pay attention to the body, it is easier to do so when the body is in motion. This is an advantage of the walking meditation.)

Where and when. This meditation is best done outdoors. We recommend setting aside at least 20 minutes for your walking meditation, and not trying to combine it with anything else like going on errands or walking briskly for exercise. Let this be a walk just for meditation so that you can sink into the experience with your undivided attention!

How to start. Before starting to walk, spend a little time while still standing still. Allow your awareness to be with your body. Take some deep breaths, inhaling deep into the belly. Put your full attention on the sensation of breathing. Then allow the breath to return to normal and notice it going on its own for a little while. Now bring your awareness to your body, noticing how your body feels as you are standing, and becoming aware of all the sensations going on in your body.

Now begin walking. Walk at a relaxed, fairly slow but normal pace. Pay attention to the sensations in your body as you walk. It is natural to find your attention drawn to the sights around you as you walk, but keep bringing your attention to what is going on internally.

The idea is to have your attention on the physical experience of walking. If the mind starts getting caught up in thoughts, easily bring your attention back to the experience of walking. Notice how the body feels in great detail as you walk. The entire body is involved in the act of walking — from alternation of the left and right foot to the swinging of your arms and hips.

Notice how the soles of your feet feel — the contact they make with your socks or shoes, the textures of the fabrics touching them, the way they feel as they bear the weight of your body and the sensations in them as your walk along. Feel the entire foot, being aware of how it moves as the heel is placed on the ground, and then the movement rolls to the ball of the foot and toes. Notice how it feels as the foot lifts and moves forward. Allow your awareness to move up through every part of the body, noticing the sensations as you walk. Gradually scan all parts of your body as you bring your attention to the ankles, skins, calves, knees, thighs, hips, pelvis, back, chest, shoulders, arms, neck, head.

When you become aware of tension anywhere in the body, let it go. Allow that part of your body to relax. Allow your ankles, belly, shoulders, arms, neck — all of your body — to relax. Let your hips swing loose. As you do this, the walking will become more enjoyable.

You can scan your body randomly, moving your awareness from place to pace in your body, or you can systematically scan your whole body going from the soles of your feet to the top of your head noticing the sensations of walking. The most important thing is to keep you awareness on the sensations in your body, easily bringing it back when your mind has wandered.

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Variation: Keep your attention on the rhythm of the walking — the alternation of left and right foot. Simply notice the experience of left-right-left-right motion. Keep bringing your awareness back to this experience when the mind wanders in thoughts or distractions of the environment.

Finding a comfortable position
Unless otherwise stated, these guided meditations can be done either sitting or lying down. In general, if you meditate sitting up, you’ll tend to stay more alert for the meditation. You might tend to doze or fall asleep while lying down. You can try meditating both ways to see the difference for yourself. In either case, find a position that is comfortable and close your eyes for the meditations.
Listen easily without straining
Listen easily to the meditations, without straining in any way to follow the instructions. Treat the instructions as gentle suggestions, and allow yourself to follow them in a way that is easy and natural. The mind will wander from time to time — that doesn’t matter. Just easily bring your attention back to the voice-guided instructions when you realize it has wandered.
Meditations with and without a focus
Some of the meditations have a focus, such as the breath, emotions or body awareness. It’s not necessary to concentrate to keep your attention on these things. Just be easy with the process and come back to the focus when the mind has wandered.
Ending the meditations
At the end of most meditations, you will be given the option to continue longer with the meditation on your own for a while longer. When you are ready to end the meditation, take time to come out slowly. Stretch, take some deep breaths and gradually return to your activity. Opening your eyes downcast can also help the transition to activity to be more graceful and smooth.
Doing these meditations on your own
Once you’ve listened to these meditations for some time, you will become familiar enough with the processes to do them on your own. You can always come back to the guided meditation as a “refresher” once you’re doing them on your own.
Value of repeating the meditations
Listening to any of these guided meditations should bring relaxation and a shift in your way of being. Listening to them more than once increases these effects and helps you to develop new habits in living.
Regular meditation brings the most benefit!